Hydraulic carpet kicker

ABSTRACT

A hydraulic carpet kicker, comprising: a) a housing having internally a receiving chamber, a handle and a switch being formed at the top of the housing; b) an oil storage tank attached to the housing for storing the liquid to provide the oil hydraulic pressure; c) an oil hydraulic cylinder disposed at the bottom of the oil storage tank and having a front cylinder wall and a rear cylinder wall, a piston and a piston rod being positioned within the oil hydraulic cylinder, the external end of the piston rod extending through the front cylinder wall to be connected to a kicking unit, the internal wall of the piston and the rear cylinder wall defining an oil pressure action area, a spring being interposed between the external wall of the piston and the front cylinder wall; and d) an oil pressure unit having a motor and a pump within the receiving chamber, an oil suction pipe being interposed between the pump and the oil storage tank, an oil inlet pipe being positioned between the pump the oil pressure action area, the bottom of an oil return pipe being connected to the oil pressure action area, the top thereof being attached to the oil storage tank, an return oil release knob being disposed at the top of the oil storage tank for controlling the on/off state thereof. In this way, a simple structure and a convenient operation are achieved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a carpet kicker, and more particularly to a carpet kicker that employs the oil hydraulic pressure as power source to directly drive a kicking unit for pushing forward the free end of a carpet when the carpet is laid. In retracting, a spring force is employed to return the kicking unit in its original position.

2. Description of the Related Art

Carpets are commonly laid on the floor of our home or office and give us an indoor warm and comfortable feeling. However, carpets must be laid evenly and smoothly on the floor, or else the carpets will be uneven, not only affecting its appearance, but also creating a problem of stumbling people easily.

If a large carpet is laid, a user usually cannot pull and spread the thick and heavy carpet evenly by hands, and thus a carpet kicker is needed for the job.

Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art carpet kicker 70 is used to hold a free end of a carpet 62 to push it towards a pin board 60 at a wall, and the carpet kicker 70 includes a rectangular main body 71, a kicking unit 72 installed at a front end of the main body 71, a plurality of protruding pins 73 disposed at the bottom surface of the kicking unit 72 for hooking and pulling the carpet 62. The height of the protruding pin 73 can be controlled by a knob 74. The main body 11 includes a cushion 75 disposed at an end of the main body 11, and carpet kickers of this sort are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,023.

When the carpet kicker 70 is in use, a user presses the main body 71 by hands, and pushes the cushion 75 in the arrowed direction by knees, such that the kicking unit 72 holds and moves the carpet 62 gradually towards a pin board 60 on a wall, and finally hooks an edge of the carpet 62 to a hook pin 61 of the pin board 60 to spread and fix the carpet 62. However, this method requires a lot of time and effort. Meanwhile, a long-term use of the paint cover to push against the cushion 75 will cause vocational injuries.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 for another prior art carpet kicker 80, the carpet kicker 80 comprises an air pressure input end 81 connected to an air compressor 90 for providing air pressure to a housing 83 through a handle 82. The housing 83 includes a piston (not shown) for controlling a piston rod 85 to move forward and backward axially, and an external end of the piston rod 85 is connected to a hooking rod 86, and the bottom of the hooking rod 86 includes a hook 861. Further, a kicking unit 84 is installed at the bottom of a front end of the housing 83. Although the carpet kicker 80 intends to pull the carpet 62 pneumatically, its application still has the following problems:

1. Since the piston is driven pneumatically to move the piston rod 85, therefore an external air compressor 90 is needed to supply air pressure which is inconvenient to users. In other words, users have to carry a heavy and expensive air compressor 90 for the use of the carpet kicker 80, and it thus makes the application impractical. Although people tried to replace the pneumatic way with the hydraulic way, a practical hydraulic carpet kicker is still not developed due to the structure and features in spreading the carpet.

2. Since the interval D between a pin board 60 for fixing the carpet 62 and a skirting board 64 at the wall is only 5 mm˜10 mm, and the design does not allow the hook 861 to be installed within the interval D, and it often makes the carpet kicker 80 useless. If the interval D of the pin board 60 is increased to allow the installation of the hook 861, the carpet will produce creases easily and affect the appearance of the carpet adversely.

3. Moreover, the kicking unit 84 and the housing 83 are attached to each other and not mounted on the piston rod 85. The carpet kicker 80 uses the hooking rod 86 to hook a fixed end of the pin board 60, and then the piston board 85 is moved back and forth to pull components such as the housing 83, handle 82 and kicking unit 84 indicated by dotted lines in the figure to move towards the wall synchronously. Furthermore, the method of using the protruding pin 841 to drive and pull the carpet 62 towards the pin board 60 is not too practical, because all of the actions for hooking and pulling the carpet 62 are centralized at the hook 861, and the pin board 60 is lifted by the hook 861 when the carpet 62 has not been pulled evenly yet. Moreover, the kicking unit 84 is not driven by the piston rod 85. Therefore, the kicking unit 84 loses the pulling force when the hooking rod 86 is detached. As a result, an independent application is not possible so that this structure requires further improvements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a hydraulic carpet kicker that includes a built-in oil hydraulic system. The oil hydraulic system provides an oil hydraulic pressure serving as power to directly drive the kicking unit to move forward the free end of the carpet. Meanwhile, the whole apparatus stays unmoved except that the kicking unit holds the carpet to move toward the side wall. In this way, a convenient human/machine operation interface is achieved. Moreover, the carpet can be rapidly spread in a flat position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic carpet kicker that is connected or is not connected to a hooking rod for a multiple operation options.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic carpet kicker that includes means for determining the extension of the kicking unit such that an automatic stop is ensured when the kicking unit reaches its prearranged position.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, a hydraulic carpet kicker in accordance with the invention includes:

a) a housing having internally a receiving chamber, a handle and a switch being formed at the top of the housing;

b) an oil storage tank attached to the housing for storing the liquid to provide the oil hydraulic pressure;

c) an oil hydraulic cylinder disposed at the bottom of the oil storage tank and having a front cylinder wall and a rear cylinder wall, a piston and a piston rod being positioned within the oil hydraulic cylinder, the external end of the piston rod extending through the front cylinder wall to be connected to a kicking unit, the internal wall of the piston and the rear cylinder wall defining an oil pressure action area, a spring being interposed between the external wall of the piston and the front cylinder wall; and

d) an oil pressure unit having a motor and a pump within the receiving chamber, an oil suction pipe being interposed between the pump and the oil storage tank, an oil inlet pipe being positioned between the pump the oil pressure action area, the bottom of an oil return pipe being connected to the oil pressure action area, the top thereof being attached to the oil storage tank, an return oil release knob being disposed at the top of the oil storage tank for controlling the on/off state thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following descriptions and its accompanying figures of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional carpet kicker;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another conventional carpet kicker;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of using the carpet kicker of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cutaway view I of a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a cutaway view II of the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of using the carpet kicker according to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a cutaway view of a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of using the carpet kicker according to the second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing of a positioning unit of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

First of all, referring to FIGS. 4 through 6, a first embodiment of the invention includes a housing 10, an oil storage tank 20, an oil hydraulic cylinder 30, and an oil pressure unit 50.

The housing 10 internally includes a receiving chamber 11. A handle 12 and a switch 13 are formed at the top of the housing 10. The switch 13 controls the switching-on and switching-off of the whole carpet kicker.

The oil storage tank 20 is attached to the housing 10 for storing the liquid to provide the purpose of oil hydraulic pressure. The oil storage tank 20 is formed in any shapes. According to this embodiment, the oil storage tank 20 is disposed at the side of the housing 10. However, it should not be restricted thereto. In other words, the housing 10 may be installed at the top of the oil storage tank 20.

The oil hydraulic cylinder 30 is disposed at the bottom of the oil storage tank 20 and includes a front cylinder wall 37 and a rear cylinder wall 38. A piston 31 and a piston rod 32 are positioned within the oil hydraulic cylinder 30. The external end of the piston rod 32 projects through the front cylinder wall 37 to be connected to a kicking unit 40. The internal wall of the piston 31 and the rear cylinder wall 38 define an oil pressure action area 36. In addition, a spring 33 is interposed between the external wall of the piston 31 and the front cylinder wall 37. The kicking unit 40 includes a connection portion 41 at the top of the internal side thereof for connection to the piston rod 32. The bottom of the main body 42 is provided with hooking needles 43 for hooking and pulling the carpet. A stationary type is formed between the main body 42 and the connection portion 41. Alternatively, it can be formed in a rotary type. The main body 42 and the hooking needles 43 belong to the prior art and are not the object of the invention so that no further descriptions are given hereinafter.

The oil pressure unit 50 includes a motor 51 and a pump 52 within the receiving chamber 11. An oil suction pipe 53 is interposed between the pump 52 and the oil storage tank 20 while an oil inlet pipe 54 is positioned between the pump 52 and the oil pressure action area 36. Meanwhile, the bottom of an oil return pipe 55 is connected to the oil pressure action area 36 while the top thereof is attached to the oil storage tank 20. A return oil release knob 57 is disposed at the top of the oil storage tank 20 for controlling the on/off state thereof. That is, the hydraulic oil in the oil pressure action area 36 is delivered from the oil return pipe 55 via the return oil release knob 57 through a backflow port 56 into the oil storage tank 20 when the return oil release knob 57 is switched on.

In addition, an oil filter sponge 34 is interposed between the piston rod 32 and a shaft hole of the front cylinder wall 37. Besides, a telescopic dust boot 35 is mounted between the protruding end of the piston rod 32 and the kicking unit 40.

Moreover, a positioning unit 48 is disposed at the top of the connection portion 41 of the kicking unit 40. Referring to FIG. 9, a sliding groove 44 is provided for an index arm 45 sliding thereon to adjust the prearranged position. A measuring stick 46 corresponding to the index arm 45 is fixed at the bottom of the housing 10. An end stop switch 47 is installed at the front end of the measuring stick 46 and electrically coupled to the motor 51 within the receiving chamber 11. As shown in FIG. 9, the index arm 45 rests against the end stop switch 47 when the operator wants to pull the carpet over a distance D1 and the kicking unit 40 is pushed by the piston rod 32 to the range D1 such that an OFF-position is achieved to stop the operation of the motor 51. If only a shift distance of D2 is required, the index arm 45 is moved forward to a prearranged position. Meanwhile, the distance is determined by means of the measuring stick 46. In this way, the index arm 45 can be pushed to the prearranged position and the distance is known by the measuring stick 46. In other words, the operation of the motor 51 is stopped when the kicking unit 40 is moved forward over a distance of D2.

Based upon the above-mentioned configuration, an oil hydraulic system is built within the apparatus. Meanwhile, the kicking unit 40 is directly driven by the oil hydraulic power for pushing forward the free end of the carpet 62. As shown in FIG. 6, the kicking unit 40 of the invention is directly coupled with the piston rod 32. Unlike the conventional pushing method that the conventional kicking unit 84 is not actuated by the piston rod 32 but only operable in cooperation with the hooking rod 86, the whole mechanism of the invention stays unmoved except that the kicking unit 40 catches the carpet 62 and moves it toward the wall. In this way, the carpet can be rapidly and evenly spread. As a result, the carpet kicker is applicable without connecting the hooking rod 86, thereby achieving a multiple options.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The elements of the second embodiment identical to the first embodiment are marked with the same reference signs. The difference between both embodiments lies in that a hooking rod 14 is disposed at the front end of the housing 10. An upright hook portion 15 is installed at the front end of the hooking rod 14. The bottom of the upright hook portion 15 is provided with an internal hook 16. A cushioning pad 18 is installed at the tail of the oil storage tank 20 and the oil hydraulic cylinder 30 for providing an auxiliary support. As shown in FIG. 8, the upright hook portion 15 of the hooking rod 14 rests against a kicker plate 64. Meanwhile, the internal hook 16 is hooked on the needle base 60. In this way, the whole apparatus is stable in position except that the kicking unit 40 hooks and pulls the carpet 62 toward the needle base 60, thereby smoothly spreading the carpet in a flat position.

Referring back to FIGS. 4 and 5, the kicking unit 40 of the invention is driven by the built-in oil pressure unit 50. Therefore, the drawback of the conventional pneumatic structure, which requires an external connection with an air compressor, is avoided. Meanwhile, the complexity of the mechanical drive with the conventional motor is removed. Although the hydraulic pressure serving as a pushing force has been widely applied to the conventional tool machines, the invention is skillfully built in the apparatus. Meanwhile, the piston 31 is driven by a one-way oil hydraulic pressure. That is, the oil hydraulic pressure is employed only when the kicking unit 40 is pushed forward by the piston 31 in such a way that the piston 31 is moved from the position X₀ (see FIG. 4) to the position of X1 (see FIG. 5). In returning, the return oil release knob 57 is opened such that the spring 33 provides a reverse resilience that causes the piston 31 to move left, thereby forcing the liquid within the oil hydraulic cylinder 30 to be delivered from the oil return pipe 55 via the backflow port 56 into the oil storage tank 20. When the resilience of the spring 33 is released, the piston 31 is returned back to the position X₀. Therefore, the force of the invention includes a hydraulic force provided by the oil hydraulic system and a mechanical force provided by the spring. A reciprocating movement is achieved by action of both of the above-mentioned forces. Thus, a simple control and an easy operation are ensured by use of the oil hydraulic pressure. Moreover, the volume and the weight are not large so that a practical and convenient operation is achieved.

Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A hydraulic carpet kicker, comprising: a) a housing having internally a receiving chamber, a handle and a switch being formed at the top of the housing; b) an oil storage tank attached to the housing for storing the liquid to provide the oil hydraulic pressure; c) an oil hydraulic cylinder disposed at the bottom of the oil storage tank and having a front cylinder wall and a rear cylinder wall, a piston and a piston rod being positioned within the oil hydraulic cylinder, the external end of the piston rod extending through the front cylinder wall to be connected to a kicking unit, the internal wall of the piston and the rear cylinder wall defining an oil pressure action area, a spring being interposed between the external wall of the piston and the front cylinder wall; and d) an oil pressure unit having a motor and a pump within the receiving chamber, an oil suction pipe being interposed between the pump and the oil storage tank, an oil inlet pipe being positioned between the pump the oil pressure action area, the bottom of an oil return pipe being connected to the oil pressure action area, the top thereof being attached to the oil storage tank, an return oil release knob being disposed at the top of the oil storage tank for controlling the on/off state thereof.
 2. The hydraulic carpet kicker as recited in claim 1 wherein an oil filter sponge is interposed between the piston rod and a shaft hole of the front cylinder wall.
 3. The hydraulic carpet kicker as recited in claim 1 wherein a telescopic dust boot is mounted between the protruding end of the piston rod and the kicking unit.
 4. The hydraulic carpet kicker as recited in claim 1 wherein a positioning unit is disposed at the top of the connection portion of the kicking unit, and wherein a sliding groove is provided for an index arm 45 sliding thereon to adjust the prearranged position, and wherein a measuring stick corresponding to the index arm is fixed at the bottom of the housing, and wherein an end stop switch is installed at the front end of the measuring stick and electrically coupled to the motor within the receiving chamber.
 5. The hydraulic carpet kicker as recited in claim 1 wherein a hooking rod and an upright hook portion are disposed at the front end of the housing, and wherein the bottom of the upright hook portion is provided with an internal hook. 